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BPA Study on Thyroid Function of Limited Relevance to Human Health

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Oct. 4, 2012) – In response to a study published in Environmental Health Perspectives entitled, “Maternal Urinary Bisphenol A During Pregnancy and Maternal and Neonatal Thyroid Function in the CHAMACOS Study,” by Jonathan Chevrier, et. al, the American Chemistry Council (ACC) has issued the following statement, which can be attributed to Steven G. Hentges, Ph.D., of the Polycarbonate/BPA Global Group:

“The author’s speculation that BPA is linked to health effects caused by thyroid hormone levels in women and newborns is not supported by the data; the authors themselves note that the thyroid hormone levels reported were within normal range and the study was not designed to measure any health effects. In addition, since BPA is efficiently metabolized and rapidly cleared from the body, the limited BPA exposure measurements reported do not likely provide an accurate measure of maternal exposure to BPA during pregnancy.

“BPA is one of the most thoroughly tested chemicals in the market used today and has a safety track record of 50 years. The consensus of government agencies across the world is that BPA is safe for use in food-contact materials. Not only have the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Health Canada both recently reconfirmed that it is unlikely that BPA could cause human health effects, but the European Food Safety Authority and a World Health Organization panel have also supported the continued use of BPA in products that come in contact with food.”